Art & Copy (2008)

58% of critics liked it
(26 reviews)
65% of users liked it
(712 ratings)

The advertising industry in America exists in a paradox -- while it's all but impossible to go a day without being exposed to the work of leading figures in the advertising business, very little is known about the people behind the ads and the process by which they're created. Filmmaker Doug Pray… More The advertising industry in America exists in a paradox -- while it's all but impossible to go a day without being exposed to the work of leading figures in the advertising business, very little is known about the people behind the ads and the process by which they're created. Filmmaker Doug Pray offers a rare look inside the business of advertising in the documentary Art & Copy, in which he profiles a number of the most respected men and women in the ad game as they talk about their work, their motivations, and their views on the creative process. Pray's interview subjects include Lee Clow, who created memorable television spots for Apple's Macintosh computer and later their iPod MP3 player; Rich Silverstein and Jeff Goodby, who gave new life to the dairy industry with the "Got Milk?" campaign; Hal Riney, who helped put Ronald Reagan in the White House with his "Morning in America" TV spot; George Lois, who remade popular culture by coining the slogan "I Want My MTV"; and Mary Wells, the first woman to run a major ad agency and the creator of the "I (heart) New York" campaign. Sponsored in part by the One Club, an organization dedicated to excellence in advertising, Art & Copy received its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 26 min.
Directed By: Doug Pray
Genres: Documentary, Special Interest

In Theaters: Mar 27, 2009 Wide
On DVD: May 4, 2010
Studio: Seventh Art Releasing

Critic Reviews

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle
Pray inserts facts that are eye-popping (the food industry spends $34 billion annually on ads) and alarming (every year, the average child sees 20,000 TV commercials).
Peter Schilling, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Art & Copy offers an intriguing -- some might say frightening -- glimpse into the world that has prompted a generation of Americans to religiously tune into the Super Bowl just to watch those short movies that sell product.
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
They are the giants of modern advertising, and they have some alluring tales to tell.
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
An entertaining but also oddly naive documentary about American advertising.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
When all is said and done, Art & Copy is little more than an ad for advertising.
Joanne Kaufman, Wall Street Journal
It all sounds rather grandiose, but it's hardly a surprising view from folks accustomed to thinking big.
Marty Mapes, Movie Habit
Doug Pray asked them what it was like to change the world on behalf of someone else's product
Andy Klein, Christian Science Monitor
Even without the nostalgic aspects, Art & Copy is thoroughly entertaining. But the film ends up being an advertisement for advertising. It's hard not to wonder if we're being sold a bill of goods.
Cathleen Roundtree, Boxoffice Magazine
Art & Copy possesses enough classy artistry, hip invention, and big-idea philosophy to launch itself into the documentary stratosphere--where it belongs.
Ron Wilkinson, Monsters and Critics
As the glossiest of colored glossies this film delivers a message than creativity is still alive in America. But the main reward seems to be corporate bottom lines.
Jennifer Merin, About.com
Advertising's a great documentary subject. Unfortunately, 'Art & Copy,' as slick and stylish as it is, doesn't do an adequate job of exploring its subject.
Neil Rosen, NY1-TV
The joy that these creative types experience when their work is successful and the seriousness with which they approach their craft comes shining through. Along the way, viewers get caught up in their exuberance.
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
Occasionally Art & Copy becomes an advertisement for advertising -- some of the talking heads are a little self-congratulatory -- but it offers plenty of food for thought. And makes it taste good, too.
Geoff Berkshire, Metromix.com
[The] relentlessly positive approach results in a movie that feels like it was made for an advertising convention, not general audience consumption (let alone edification).
Paul Brenner, Filmcritic.com
We have finally reached the point where the only honest and inviolate form of media is the clear, crisp, and untainted craft of online film criticism.
Nathan Rabin, AV Club
Art & Copy is mightily diverting, for those who don't mind being sold a slick bill of goods.
Dan Fienberg, HitFix
It's indispensable.
Eric D. Snider, EricDSnider.com
It's entertaining as far as it goes, a highly watchable portrait of one of America's most distinctive communication tools.
Edward Douglas, ComingSoon.net
A deeply fascinating movie ... you'll probably never be able to look at commercials and ads the same way again.

Read all 19 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Daniel P

A bit dry, and a bit inside, but this is a film for ad geeks that focuses on advertising since the big change: the day that art directors and copy writers started collaborating to produce not just ads, but the ideas behind the ads. It used to be that writers would write their copy,… More
A bit dry, and a bit inside, but this is a film for ad geeks that focuses on advertising since the big change: the day that art directors and copy writers started collaborating to produce not just ads, but the ideas behind the ads. It used to be that writers would write their copy, then send it to the art directors, who would lay it out. The new model has resulted in the creative pairing most agencies now use: one art director, one copy writer, and with any luck, one good ad. This approach has had such success that it has even moved into the newspaper world, more or less killing layout departments and resulting in software for "page ownership", which turns the copy editor into an editor, photo editor and layout artist all at once, as in the end they produce one vertically integrated page. This is the insight I took away from the first half-hour, and the bit about newspapers is me applying that insight to my own past work experience. After thinking through this, I watched the film alternate between self-congratulatory interviews with the creators of major campaigns - for VW Beetle, MacIntosh, Air Jordan and other products - and disembodied stats about how many ads we all see in a day, lifetime etc. An interesting series of anecdotes that lets you inside some big industry brains and even bigger successes, but you have got to LOVE advertising to really enjoy this one.
Byron B

This doc turns its camera, early in its run time, on a young man who's family has worked putting up highway billboards for several generations. He admits he does not know anyone who makes advertisements and then the film seems to forget him. My wife was assigned to watch this by… More
This doc turns its camera, early in its run time, on a young man who's family has worked putting up highway billboards for several generations. He admits he does not know anyone who makes advertisements and then the film seems to forget him. My wife was assigned to watch this by her television promotions and advertising department. It is a mixed bag of talking heads giving bits of history and insight at varying levels of engrossment. I was most interested in those who talked about innovations in combining graphics (art) and print (copy). The few super bowl ads that are highlighted and how they came to be were also lots of fun.
Matt S

Interesting look at advertisement, messages. Not so much design, but more about the story behind it and how they thought outside the box to develop an innovative message.